The Dominican Republic is the largest island in the Caribbean: Hispaniola. It’s south of Turks and Caicos, east of Cuba and west of Puerto Rico. Cabarete travel and getting around is easy!
Cabarete is on the north coast of the island, facing the warm Atlantic Ocean. Its situated in the perfect position to catch the famous trade winds, the same winds that blow in Hawaii. On this page Laurel shares her best tips for Cabarete travel: which airports, taxi lengths and costs, finding LEK, getting around and her helpful custom Google Map of the best places in town.
Getting Here: Cabarete Travel and Arrival
Fly to Airport Puerto Plata Gregorio Luperon airport (POP) then taxi 20 minutes to Cabarete, a ride that costs $40 each way.
Laurel’s best arrival tips:
Don’t bother changing money at the airport, you’ll get better rates from the Carib Express Exchange Bank next to LEK.
Ask your driver to stop at Supermarket Playero in Sosua and stock up on food and drinks on your way to your condo or hotel.
Fly from the East Coast USA:
- American Airlines from Miami (MIA)
- JetBlue from New York (JFK)
- United from Newark (EWR)
Fly from Europe:
- Thomas Cook from England
- Jet Air Fly from Brussels
- Tui from Germany
Other airports may offer better fares, but consider the cost and time it takes getting to Cabarete:
Santiago (STI)
- Taxi to Cabarete is $120 each way
- Trip takes 1.5 hours (90 minutes) over a beautiful (but winding) mountain road
Santo Domingo (SDQ)
- Taxi to the bus station in the city costs $30 then hop on the Metro Bus to Sousa for $10 then taxi to Cabarete for $20 = $70 cost each way
- Trip takes up to 7 hours
- Direct taxi fare is around $220 one way and takes around 4 hours
Punta Cana (PUJ)
- Taxi to Cabarete is $400 each way
- Trip takes 6 hours
How To Find LEK Once You’re In Cabarete
LEK kiteboarding school is easy to find!
Check out Laurel’s personalized Google Map of town. It lists her favorite places to stay, eat, and play.
Walking Directions – From the beach in Cabarete center
- Walk to your left (downwind) towards Puerto Plata airport/Sosua – less than 1/2 mile approx. 8 mins walk with the ocean on your right
- Look for a stunning white resort building with an infinity pool
- You’ll see our pink LEK flags and the kiteboarding shop
Driving Directions – from POP airport
- Pass Kitebeach, Viva, and the Esso gas station on the right
- When you see Vagamundo Restaurant on the left you are almost there
- Just past Vagamundo you’ll see a beautiful sign for Millennium Resort & Spa and Laurel Eastman Kiteboarding, turn left
- Continue down the short driveway and you’ll come to the Millennium entrance and parking lot
- Enter the reception, walk thru and pass the bar, the spa, and the gallery
- Continue on the walkway towards the infinity pool
- Reaching the pool you’ll see LEK on the beach – just past the pool on your right with the pink LEK flags
- Turn left at the pool, following the path around the rooftop restaurant down to the beach, through the palm oasis, to our beach-front kiteboarding shop and school
Getting Around Cabarete
One of Laurel’s favorite things about Cabarete is that you don’t need to drive. It’s super easy to get around Cabarete by walking and taxi. From Laurel Eastman Kiteboarding/Ocean Dream/Millennium Resort you can walk on the beach to town. In the evening after a fun dinner/drinks/dancing we recommend you take the taxi home, the cost is around $7.
To get to the surfing in Encuentro we recommend taking the transfer service from the local surf school, we work with Marcus at 321 Take Off, he also organizes the famous Master of the Ocean contest each year and has been in Cabarete for ages. His team picks you up at your condo each morning, takes you to surf, and drops you back in time for breakfast or brunch, all for $5 per person.
The common form of local transportation is on the back of a motorcycle taxi, called a motoconcho. These trips are exciting and risky, and NOT recommended.
If you are up for a cultural experience and adventure you can try the public transportation. It’s a shared van or car that packs an entertaining number of passengers inside then races along the road like they’re in the Indy 500. If you have a high tolerance for risk, don’t mind zero personal space and no seatbelts then it can be pretty funny for very short distances. It’s also very economical, around $1 per ride.
Driving in the DR is best left to the Dominicans who know the system. You don’t need to rent a car, there are great English speaking taxi drivers ready to get you around safely. They are easily reached by phone or WhatsApp. We can connect you to Laurel’s driver, Tony Almonte, just ask for his info!
For more tips about getting around, or Cabarete travel, talk to the LEK team by email or when you’re here kiteboarding in the Dominican Republic.
